Investigating the risk of harm from prescription opioids using linked data

Escalating opioid use/misuse and harms is a global health problem. There is limited population-level evidence about the drivers of long-term prescribed opioid use, dependence, overdose and other harms. The PhD candidate will contribute to a broader program of work (POPPY II) that addresses these gaps.

POPPY II is a retrospective cohort of ~2 million people prescribed opioids in NSW, linked to health service utilisation (primary care, hospitalisations, emergency department presentations) and mortality. Using best practice pharmacoepidemiological methods, the candidate will undertake a range of studies to quantify the risk of harm associated with prescription opioids to inform national and global responses.

Primary supervisor: Scientia Professor Louisa Degenhardt
Joint supervisor: Dr Natasa Gisev
Secondary supervisor: Professor Sallie Pearson

Candidate requirements:

• Masters or Honours in public health, epidemiology, pharmacoepidemiology, biostatistics or a related field
• Strong skills in quantitative analysis, with experience using linked administrative data highly regarded
• Track record of publication of peer-reviewed scientific articles
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

How to Apply

For more information about this project please contact Scientia Professor Louisa Degenhardt (l.degenhardt@unsw.edu.au) or Dr Natasa Gisev (n.gisev@unsw.edu.au).